Rob Olson’s April 5 column “The Israel Question” touched on some interesting points. Yes, dialogue and context is necessary in any situation. Yes, both Palestinians and Israelis have their faults. But there are certain facts that can not and should not just be pushed under the rug. College students may be liberal thinkers, but giving gays and women rights does not cover up the fact that Israelis are stealing land from those who were there before them and putting Palestinians through the humiliation and torture of check points, arrests, and limited rights. College students should be discussing how the world has allowed Israel to carry on in such a manner. Why does the U.S. send over $8.2 million dollars of military aid per day to Israel when right in our backyard, education at all levels is suffering and we have yet to recover from the housing crisis? We should be discussing how the world’s hegemonic power, that which prides itself on equality, liberty, and freedom for all, can support a nation that segregates people based on race, down to the license plates on the cars and the roads they can travel on. Israel puts on a good front, but their true intentions are to continue building scattered and expanding settlements, despite the United Nations condemning them, making the goal of a Palestinian state ever more difficult to reach.
LYLA RAYYAN
Junior, International Relations
Once again this is entirely too long for me to respond to all that I’d like to respond to but I am an atheist and humanist who supports the Palestinians and stands in complete opposition to Israel- most emphatically to American funding of Israel’s terrorism. I noticed Arafat brought up Richard Dawkins. Dawkins has acknowledged that a history of oppression of Palestinians would necessarily infuriate them. Also, I can’t help but notice that you make this about Islam. Dawkins opposes Islam and all religion. The issue with Palestine is not about Islam. There are Christians in Palestine and all over the Arab world. The assault is against Arabs because Jewish people were bullied and they chose to take it out on the people who have coincided with them peacefully and even stood up for them when Christians would not(Jewish people moved to Muslim countries because they were persecuted by Christians while Muslims gave them rights). I assume they took it out on Arabs because they had always regarded Jews with peace, so Jews assumed they were an easy target. Well, who knows. It’s not important why. It is pretty important that Arabs did nothing to Jews to deserve to be kicked out of their homes, murdered, oppressed, and humiliated in (as mentioned above) open air prisons. There are many Jewish people and Holocaust survivors who are disgusted by Israel. There are Israeli soldiers in prison because they were too disgusted to carry out their missions. At least Arafat, if you’re going to put names in here, make sure they agree with you. Dawkins may hate Islam like you do (which is a bigoted sentiment) but he acknowledges that Palestinians are wrongfully oppressed. I don’t support a lot of what is taught in Catholicism- the religion I was born into- but that in no way means that I would stand by while a people of whom a majority were Catholic were oppressed and humiliated. Human rights matter to me. Not religion.
You’re ignoring YeahYeahYeah’s main point (as well as mine): that many, many non-Muslims agree with the opinion of this article.
Again with the ad hominem attacks. I have yet to call you one name, yet you keep coming at me with them.
I refuse to dignify this debate with religion because there are people of all religions on both sides of the fence. But in response to your ludicrous statement that this Raymond Ibrahim fellow is somehow a scholar when his credentials are equivalent to guest-lecturing for the University of Phoenix, I’ll ask you to read this:
http://www.suhaibwebb.com/relationships/non-muslims/does-islam-force-itself-on-others/
You want me to explain why a regime is killing its Muslim protesters? Are you really trying to attribute a regime attacking its own people to Islam? Look around the world, my friend. Central Africa isn’t Muslim. Mexico isn’t Muslim. Latin America isn’t Muslim.
YYY,
Tell me what I ignored and I’ll do my best to address it.
I like how he has completely ignored me and continues to do what we called him out on. He’s just mad because he knows he is wrong, and keeps posting the same types of faulty arguments because he has nothing else to say.